Bike tax

custardy

Generali wrote: »

I don't know if you read the article. As far as I can see the cyclists asked are very much in favour of the tax. It's $4 which isn't exactly onerous.

So in scale. Shall we add a couple of hundred to every new car for road wear/building?
I think the irony of stating that they plough cycle lanes, as if its a special case is classic.
The points in my post above still stands

Lord_Baltimore

Cyclists already pay a 'bike tax'. We pay for road construction and maintenance. Motorists pay a vehicle tax because their vehicles require a higher standard of road construction. I'd be quite happy cycling up a free, unmaintained, un-painted dirt track and would choose that option before paying an additional tax for cycling.

Norman_Castle

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

Cyclists already pay a 'bike tax'. We pay for road construction and maintenance. Motorists pay a vehicle tax because their vehicles require a higher standard of road construction. I'd be quite happy cycling up a free, unmaintained, un-painted dirt track and would choose that option before paying an additional tax for cycling.

Motorists pay a vehicle tax because the government chooses to gather tax in this way.
See below for a quote from your government.

Norman_Castle

In urban areas 20% of the highway is segregated for pedestrians. This is a vast area maintained at vast expense. The costs include pedestrian crossings, subways and pedestrian bridges. Should pedestrians pay pavement tax?.

andrewf75

A tax would be fair if cycling was a minority activity that benefitted only those participating, but given that it also benefits all of society, it seems fundamentally ridiculous to place an extra tax on it.

Generali

andrewf75 wrote: »

A tax would be fair if cycling was a minority activity that benefitted only those participating, but given that it also benefits all of society, it seems fundamentally ridiculous to place an extra tax on it.

It depends on the benefits that accrue from the tax.

The point of the article, to my mind, was that where a tax was in operation the financial benefit to cyclists were considerably higher than the tax paid.

From a purely selfish POV, if I can spend a dollar and get $2-3 in spending on stuff I use then I count that as a win. Whether the dollar is a tax or money I spend in a shop counts for naught.

custardy

custardy wrote: »

well heres an issue.
Is there an equivalent tax for cars? Pedestrians?
Funding infrastructure is great,however why would cyclists be singled out?
Also would cyclists have input onto the spend? Here in Edinburgh we have a % of the transportation budget set aside for cycling.Great! Sadly this is a double edged sword. Anti cyclists are up in arms and the spend is often wasted on poorly thought out ideas/implementations. The Quality Bike corridor being a case in point.

The vision

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/385/cycling_in_edinburgh/1931/cycle_projects/2


The reality

http://mccraw.co.uk/tag/quality-bike-corridor/

Generali wrote: »

It depends on the benefits that accrue from the tax.

The point of the article, to my mind, was that where a tax was in operation the financial benefit to cyclists were considerably higher than the tax paid.

From a purely selfish POV, if I can spend a dollar and get $2-3 in spending on stuff I use then I count that as a win. Whether the dollar is a tax or money I spend in a shop counts for naught.

Spend does not always equal win

Big_G_RC

the only reason I see that motorists want to see cyclists taxed is because their cars are, and the whole reason why cars are taxed doesn't apply to bicycles.

buglawton

Maybe cyclists should be paid a bonus for not occupying valuable road and parking space as they would with their car.

0% VAT on cycles and accessories perhaps?

'Socially useful' things like books and children's clothes already have a zero rating.

custardy

buglawton wrote: »

Maybe cyclists should be paid a bonus for not occupying valuable road and parking space as they would with their car.

0% VAT on cycles and accessories perhaps?

'Socially useful' things like books and children's clothes already have a zero rating.

Well how about a road tax refund